Royal House
Antiques
Royal House Antiques is delighted
to offer for sale this very rare, now discontinued, Thomas Chippendale Library bookcase
which is an exact authorised copy of one from Princess’s Diana’s family home,
the Althorp Estate, it was part of the Living History collection, made by Theodore
Alexander and retailed through Brights of Nettlebed and has touch activated top lights
Please note the delivery fee
listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local
Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote please send
me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price
The Althorp estate is widely considered one of, if not the finest English country home left standing. You can see clips of the tours online, the place is an absolute marvel of English history.
The estate is owned, and has been by the Spencer family’s for over 500 years, I’ll include the history below. The estate is currently in the stewardship of the Earl of Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother
The bookcase itself is very fine, in flamed mahogany and has glass shelves and top spot lights which are activated by touching any one of the three right door hinges, each light has three dimness settings. The piece is fully stamped for Theodore Alexander the maker on the locks, Brights of Nettlebed for the retailer and the right drawer has what looks to be pewter, Althorp family crest inside.
This bookcase breaks down into five easy to transport pieces, you have the base which is one unit, the three top bookcase sections are all separate and the top cornice is also one removable piece
Condition wise this piece is exquisite, there is very little in terms of wear or use, it has been cherished since new and is a very fine piece indeed
Dimensions
Height:- 233cm, the brass urns on the very top can be unscrewed if ceiling height is an issue, they are 11cm tall each
Width:- 167cm
Depth:- 50.5cm
Please note all measurements are
taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific
measurements please ask
ALTHORP HISTORY
Althorp (popularly pronounced /ˈɔːlθɔːrp/ AWL-thorp) is a Grade I
listed stately home and estate in
the civil parish of Althorp, in West
Northamptonshire, England of about 13,000 acres (5,300 ha). By road it is about 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of the county town of Northampton and
about 75 miles (121 km) northwest of central London, situated between
the villages of Great Brington and Harlestone. It has been held
by the prominent aristocratic Spencer family for more than 500 years,
and has been owned by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer since 1992.
It was also the home of Lady Diana Spencer (later Princess of
Wales) from her parents' divorce until her marriage to Charles, Prince of
Wales.
Althorp is mentioned as a small hamlet in
the Domesday Book as "Olletorp", and by 1377 it had become
a village with a population of more than fifty people. By 1505 there were no
longer any tenants living there, and in 1508, John Spencer purchased
Althorp estate with the funds generated from his family's sheep-rearing business.
Althorp became one of the prominent stately homes in England. The palace dates
to 1688, replacing an earlier house that was once visited by Charles I.
The Spencer family amassed an extensive art collection and other valuable
household items. During the 18th century, the house became a major cultural hub
in England, and parties were regularly held, attracting many prominent members
of Great Britain's ruling class. George John, 2nd Earl Spencer, who
owned Althorp between 1783 and his death in 1834, developed one of the largest
private libraries in Europe at the palace, which grew to over 100,000 books by
the 1830s. After falling on hard times, John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer,
known as the Red Earl, in 1892 sold much of the collection to Enriqueta Rylands,
who was building the University of Manchester Library. Many of
Althorp's furnishings were sold off during the twentieth century, and between
1975 and 1992 alone approximately 20% of the contents were auctioned.
The house at Althorp was a "classically
beautiful" red brick Tudor building, but its appearance was
radically altered, starting in 1788, when the architect Henry
Holland was commissioned to make extensive changes. Mathematical
tiles were added to the exterior, encasing the brick, and four Corinthian
pilasters were added to the front. The grand hall entrance to the house,
Wootton Hall, was cited by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "the noblest
Georgian room in the county". The Great Dining Room in the east wing
extension of the house was added in 1877 to designs by John Macvicar
Anderson, its walls hung with faded, red damask silk. Numerous fireplaces and
furnishings were brought to Althorp from Spencer House in London
during the Blitz for safekeeping and still remain. The Picture
Gallery stretches for 115 feet (35 m) on the first floor of the west wing,
and is one of the best remaining examples of the original Tudor oak woodwork
and ambiance in the mansion. It has an extensive collection of portraits,
including Anthony van Dyck's War and Peace, a John de
Critz portrait of James I, a Mary Beale portrait
of Charles II, and many others. Some £2 million was spent on
redecorating the palace in the 1980s, during which time most of the religious
paintings of Althorp were sold off.
In total, the grounds of Althorp estate contain 28 listed
buildings and structures, including nine planting stones. The former falconry,
now a Grade I listed building, was built in 1613. Gardener's House is listed as
a Grade II* listed building in its own right, as are the Grade II listed West
and East Lodges. The mustard-yellow Grade II listed Stable Block, designed by
architect Roger Morris with a Palladian influence, was
ordered by Charles, Fifth Earl of Sutherland in the early 1730s. The
French landscape architect André Le Nôtre was commissioned to lay out
the park and grounds in the 1660s, and further alterations were made during the
late 18th century under Henry Holland. Following the death of Diana,
Princess of Wales in 1997, she was interred on a small island in the
middle of the ornamental Round Oval lake. A Doric-style temple with Diana's
name inscribed on top, situated across from the lake, is a tourist attraction
during July and August when the house and estate are open to the public,
although the exhibition centre, situated in the old stable block, closed
permanently in 2013.
Any questions please feel free to
ask before you bid
ABOUT US
Royal House
Antiques is a privately owned family ran business founded in Wimbledon SW19 and
now based in Pulborough RH20. We specialise in finding, restoring very fine
luxury antique leather seating, along with every single other type of antique
ranging from the 16th century to the 20th century. We
also stock a number of designer brands such as Fritz Hansen, Ralph Lauren,
Cavalli, Charles & Ray Eames, Vitra, David Linley, Rolex, Tiffany, Jager Le
Coulter and so on
PAYMENTS
We accept
payment via Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Bacs, Chaps, PayPal or Card, we
would kindly ask that all items are paid for within 48 hours and collected
within 7 working days, we can hold all paid items for 14 days free of charge,
there after a £20 a week storage fee will apply. We have long term storage
which is very economically priced, we are happy to hold stock for as long as
needed providing it is arranged prior to the purchase
If sold
items aren’t collected within three months and no arrangements have been made
for long term storage you will forfeit the item and payment
CONDITION
Please view
the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description pertaining
to the condition. Please also ask any questions before you bid and not
after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed
Royal House
Antiques cannot be held liable for any independent assumptions made regarding
the items we sell, if you are unsure on any point, please feel free to ask for
clarity
Please note
vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have
natural patina in the form of creasing and wear, we recommend annual waxing to
ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in
direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade
DELIVERY OR
COLLECTION
This item is
available for collection from our Pulborough warehouses RH20-1DF by appointment
only, alternatively we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland,
Wales and Ireland for a fee
Please
contact me via email, alternatively my contact information is under the
business seller section of the listing, with your postcode for a delivery
quotation, as mentioned above the fee listed covers with the M25 for the UK,
for international deliveries the amount listed covers local Europe only so
parts of Belgium and France
Please be
sure to include which item you would like to buy as the price is determined on
size and distance, if you would like more than one piece of furniture the
courier offers a substantial discount on the second and third item, for
international shipping please view the below information
COURIER, LARGE
ITEMS ONLY THAT CAN’T BE POSTED
We can
arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with our nominated couriers, for Europe we
use one reasonably priced professional company that we trust, for the rest of
the world we use international shippers that can send any size item crated via
air freight within 7-14 days after crating or soft packed and container shipped
via sea freight within 30-60 days. The time frames outlined are guides only, non-domestic
shipping is almost entirely governed by the airlines, sea freight loading times
and custom clearances
Whomever
delivers will always require help on the larger items to unload, the price you
will be quoted will always be based on this assumption, if this is not possible,
please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two-person team
Delivery is
to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc
that's absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10-£20 per flight per man
per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional
fee
All courier
fees are paid by yourself directly to the courier company, the contract for
delivery is between yourselves the client and whichever courier you chose from
those available I’m happy to accommodate your own courier after a cleared
payment has been received, they need to book in a collection time with at least
24 hours notice, all collections must be made within 14 working days of the
close of the sale unless agreed by prior arrangement
IMPORT DUTY
Most
countries charge some kind of import duty however almost all of our items won’t
incur any charges as the items are exempt from tax due to the age and materials
used
For European
deliveries the price you will be quoted will include all clearance
documentation and any customs charges so there won’t be any additional fees
For
international deliveries such as the United States there can be some import
duty to pay and or a clearance fee, I would estimate that 99% of all deliveries
clear customs without being stopped for either
All duties
are the responsibility of the purchaser who is the importer, they can’t be
covered by the seller or shipping agent or factored in with additional
retrospective discounts
RETURNS
Royal House
Antiques offers a no quibble return policy if the item is not as described, if
there are any issues with the piece you will be refunded in full once the item
has been returned and inspected within 14 days, alternatively if there is a
small issue, we can discuss finding a mutual resolution that makes all parties
happy
We don’t
offer a sale on approval service which means you can purchase the item, have it
delivered and if you simply don’t like it, return it, this comes under change
of mind or doesn’t fit. There is a lot of time, money and work involved in
transporting goods around the world, the costs incurred can be vast so my
advice would be if you are unsure on a piece please ask as many questions as
you like to make sure you understand everything before you buy, if you are
still unsure then please either arrange a viewing in person or if that’s not
possible then don’t buy from an online retailer, perhaps look for a local
gallery instead